Escape the Night! The Gingerbread Woman
by Dede42
Summary: When the YouTubers learned that there are children trapped in the baking room, they will have to go up against the Gingerbread Woman in order to save the children and get the next gem. Can they outwit both the Gingerbread Woman and the Sorceress, or will they pay a heavy price?
1. PROLOGUE: CANDY TIME!

Escape the Night: The Gingerbread Woman

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the Night!_

It's time to start the next episode and find the next gem with the only clue being a chocolate bar. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**PROLOGUE: CANDY TIME!**

It was a bright sunny day and two kids, a boy and a girl, were following a trail of candies and baked goods through the forest that wasn't far from the village.

They had stumbled across the first few pieces of candies by accident with a friend, who'd run back toward the village in fear, and the two of them had chosen to follow the trail instead, eager to gather up the candies and baked goods.

The two kids kept following the treats, picking them up, and eating them as they moved deeper into the forest, eager to find whoever it was that had left the trail.

* * *

Soon they came out the woods and onto the grounds of a certain mansion, where the boy found a box full of gumdrops. "I found some more!" he called out, grabbing one and popping it into his mouth.

The girl ran up to him. "Don't eat them all!" she protested, wanting some for herself.

The boy, however, had noticed that the trail of treats hadn't ended and was heading toward the mansion, which neither of them had ever been to before.

Like the other children in the village, they had been warned by both their parents and the other adults many times to stay away since it was rumored that the owner, who was said to be a tall and beautiful woman, was into dark magic, and that she'd murdered the previous owner.

"There's so _many!_" he gasped, nodding to the trail. "Look!" And he ran along the trail, picking up pieces of candies, baked goods, and the girl followed him, also picking up pieces of candies and baked goods.

* * *

It wasn't long before they finally reached the end of the trail, and they opened a door that lead them into a baking room _filled_ with all kinds of candies and baked goods.

"Oh man!" the boy gasped, his eyes wide with amazement and delight at the sight of all the treats. He dropped the treats he'd picked up onto a table, and went to a table filled with donuts and other treats as the girl entered, putting down the treats, too. "Wow!" He examined the cupcakes and the donuts as the girl explored the baking room.

"I don't think we should be here," said the girl, feeling uneasy, and it had _nothing_ to do with the treats she'd eaten. There was something off about the place, and she was already regretting coming into the baking room. She then found a wrapped chocolate bar and picked it up to read the label. "'A delicious, delecta-'"

"Come on!" the boy gasped, running past her, and she put down the chocolate bar, hurrying after him as he reached an open walk-in oven.

They both went inside and found a freshly baked meat pie. "It's a meat pie!" Delighted to have found a savory treat, they picked it up and turned to carry it out, when the oven door suddenly slammed shut! "Help! Let us out!"

* * *

In the baking room, a _very_ plump woman with curly ginger hair, dark eyes, a lot of makeup on her evilly smiling face, and wearing a pink ruffle dress with a blue/white apron, and black heels, turned away from the sealed oven as the kids screamed for help, banging frantically on the door.

She laughed sinisterly and clutched a butcher knife in one hand. She was the Gingerbread Woman, and she had her latest victims!

'_Soon enough, I will bake them into my latest meat pie!'_ she thought gleefully, looking forward since it'd been a while since she'd baked one of her meat pies, and that had to do with the fact that _someone_, and she wasn't sure who, had _hidden_ her meat pie recipe and she hadn't been able to find it anywhere in the mansion.

'_If I _ever_ find out who was responsible for taking my meat pie recipe,'_ the Gingerbread Woman thought as she prepared the ingredients she would need for the meat pie she would make out of the two kids,_ 'they will _pay_ with their lives and be baked into one of my pies as well. _No one_ takes my meat pie recipe and _lives_!'_

* * *

A/N: Those poor kids have been captured by the Gingerbread Woman! I will see you all on Wednesday with the first chapter to see what will have to be done to save the kids from a horrible fate. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	2. Chapter 1: HELP THE KIDS!

Escape the Night: The Gingerbread Woman

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the Night!_

I've had a rough morning with having to run errands and pay stuff off. So, let's just focus on the story. Shall we? We shall? Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE: HELP THE KIDS!**

When Alex got back to the lounge, Tana had convinced Gabbie to return after finding her in a nearby room, crying over DeStorm's clothing, and Dawn nudged Joey to wake him up after the Novelist snickered at the sight of the Savant sleeping on her shoulder.

"Shut up," Joey grumbled as they decided to go to the library for a change of scenery.

* * *

Once they were all in the library, Alex put the chocolate bar from earlier on the table, and they started talking about what happen earlier to DeStorm.

"What just happened with DeStorm was absolutely _insane,_" Joey remarked. "We just witnessed him _die_."

"As much as I wanted him to die," Liza confessed, "I didn't want to _see _him die."

"It _was_ brutal," Dawn agreed, shivering at the memory.

"That's gonna keep happening unless we finish this," Andrea stated matter-of-factly.

"We shouldn't want any of the other people to die," Tana stated while keeping an eye on Gabbie, who was still teary-eyed from the lost of DeStorm.

_"Everybody _will die if we don't get out of here by sunrise," Tyler pointed out. "And that's only _if_ we keep playing by the Sorceress' rules. We _need_ to change that."

"Wait, are you saying we _don't_ play by the rules?" Ernie asked and when Tyler nodded, he glanced at Joey and Dawn. "Did you guys try to do that last year? Not play by the rules?"

"No, but we didn't really know what we were doing at the time," Joey admitted. "We never knew who was going to live or who was going to die until it happen."

"And going against the rules _might_ give us an edge," Dawn remarked thoughtfully, "but it could also blow up in our faces, too."

Gabbie, however, didn't care whether they broke the rules or not, and she snatched up the chocolate bar. "We just have to open this candy bar," she snapped, and she read the writing on it. "'A delicious, delectable chocolate bar. Smells like pure joy'." She then started unwrapping it before they could stop her since she was _still_ hungry, and even some chocolate right now sounded great.

"I don't know…" Tana said uneasily as Gabbie unwrapped the chocolate bar. "Do we _have_ to eat the chocolate bar? We don't know what's in it…"

Gabbie removed the wrapper and revealed that there was a gold note on top of the chocolate bar, which she put down so that she could read the note, and Liza joked that it probably was golden ticket to a certain Chocolate Factory. Even Gabbie had to smile at that one. "'Once the children have spoken, devour me, and two paths will appear'."

"Wait," said Artie as they all blinked at that, "does that mean that there are _kids_ trapped in this damned place now?"

"Why are there…?" Andrea began and tried again, looking for the right words. "How many people are being _held_ here?"

"I don't wanna be killed by a toddler," Tyler whimpered.

Alex stood up. "Should we look for children?"

"I don't _want _kids!" Tana complained.

"We _need_ to find the kids," Dawn insisted. "I have two nephews and I would _never _forgive myself if I let kids get hurt or worst."

They started looking around the room, and Liza held her hand up to her forehead. "They're probably my height," she informed the group.

"Omigosh," Alex sighed. "Okay."

"Wait." Joey opened a door to reveal a painting. "There's children over here. Guys!"

They gathered around the portrait, which showed two small children standing together, holding hands, and they both were grinning brightly.

"Are those the kids we gotta find?" Alex wondered and he saw that there was a button on the frame. "Wait. Is that a button?" He presses it, and a drawer popped open, but there was nothing inside. "It has to be something with this," he mused, turning his attention back to the chocolate bar.

Tana and Tyler looked over his shoulder as he picked up the wrapper to reread it. "It says 'delectable chocolate…'" Tana muttered. "'…smells like pure joy…'"

"It's definitely something to do with this!" Andrea agreed.

"Hey, children!" Joey clapped his hands, as if that's going to draw the children out into the open. "Speak to us! Speak!"

"Uh, does anyone smell chocolate that _isn't_ coming from that chocolate bar?" Dawn asked, and sure enough, they were starting to smell chocolate._ 'Just like when we started smelling oranges last year that lead to that ticket box and the creepy clown masks.'_

They started searching the room for the source of the chocolate, and soon Tana found a key on one of the bookshelves. "I found a key!"

The smell was strongest near the couch that was against the fireplace, and both Joey and Alex pushed it aside, finding a chest, and they lifted it onto the table. "Let me see the key," he requested and Tana handed it to him.

The group watched as Joey unlocked and opened the chest, which was filled with colorful gumdrops and a note. "'All children love gumdrops'."

"Give some of these gumdrops to those children!" Tyler exclaimed, grabbing a handful of gumdrops and heading straight for the open drawer. Everyone else followed his lead.

"Something's gonna happen," Tana reminded them. "Brace yourselves." She caught Alex eating some of the gumdrops, and she laughed. "Alex, that's how you die." And he just stuck his tongue out at her, but he was also grinning.

"Hush," Tyler shushed them.

"Get ready," Liza said, wondering what would happen.

Once all the gumdrops were in the drawer, Tyler closed it, and a child's voice echoed through the room.

_`"Someone, please help us! Please! We've been locked in the gingerbread woman's oven, and she's going to cook us alive__!"`_

"Oh my gosh," Dawn gasped, exchanging an alarmed look with Joey. It was an _actual_ child talking!

_`"__There's a spell on the door,"`_ the child explained, _`"and only children are allowed to enter the baking room. One of our friends is lost in the woods. If you find him, he'll be able to let you in to save us!"`_

"Okay!" Liza said. "We'll find him! Don't worry!"

The child kept talking. _`"The gingerbread woman is looking for her lost meat pie recipe. Hurry! She'll be back in an hour to start the oven! Please! Help us!"`_

"Hansel and Gretel," Alex remarked, and the similarity wasn't lost on the others either since it was _very_ like the childhood story they'd been raised hearing.

Tana was frantic. "She's gonna bake those kids alive!"

'_Not if I have _anything_ to say about it,'_ Liza thought, crossing her arms defiantly.

"One group will go to the meat pies," Joey stated. "The other will go find the boy." And after agreeing, they all went back to the table to eat the chocolate bar in order to find the paths.

The moment that the chocolate had been completely eaten by the group, a door sprang open, startling them, and in the hallway, they found two trails of candies with the signs "To the Child" and "To the Recipe".

The group then split up with Joey, Liza, Dawn, Tyler, and Andrea following the trail to find the recipe while Alex, Tana, Gabbie, Artie, and Ernie followed the other trail to find the missing child.

* * *

A/N: Operation: Rescue the Children is now a go. Even though I'm going to be busy with work for this weekend, I will post the next chapter on Friday. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	3. Chapter 2: RECIPE AND CHILD PART ONE

Escape the Night: The Gingerbread Woman

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the Night!_

I'm back and it's time for the search for the recipe and the missing child to begin. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO: RECIPE AND CHILD PART ONE**

Following one of the candy trails, the group searching for the missing child, soon entered a room that had what looked like items needed to build a gingerbread house. Gabbie picked up the instructions and read them.

"'I am building an elaborate house made of gingerbread and candy. Once complete, open its door to find a treat'."

Okay!" Gabbie grabbed the nearest slab of gingerbread. "Let's start building this house!" And they started to work on building a gingerbread house.

* * *

Meanwhile, the other team was following the candy trail, eating some of it since none of them knew when they would get to eat anything again, through the foyer, and then they entered a dining room, where it'd been set up for some kind of dinner party.

'_I wonder if this was the dinner party we were suppose to have?'_ Andrea wondered as they began searching the room for the recipe, and they were surprised when they found chocolates scattered everywhere.

Tyler was popping a gumdrop into his mouth when he found a box with slots and a note. "Hold up," he said and they gathered around as he read the note. "'Please find my collection of chocolate confections and place them correctly in this box. I need a baker's dozen'. That's thirteen," he reminded them and then resumed reading. "'Be sure to taste the proper treats to be led to the man whose brains you must eat'."

"We're gonna have to eat _brains?_" Dawn asked, feeling ill. "It's bad enough that we all might in up in sugar comas from all the candy, but _brains?_ Ew!"

"Let's take care of the chocolates first, and then we can worry about the brains," Joey suggested, and they went to gather up the chocolates to figure out which ones they would need to put into the box.

* * *

Back in the room with the gingerbread house construction, Alex, Artie, and Ernie had all removed their coats and rolled up the sleeves of their shirts as they used frostings to keep the sides together, and they all were using their hands since there were a limited number of tools to work with. They were also debating about the Gingerbread Woman, too.

"Why is she _eating _children?" Tana protested as they worked on the gingerbread house. "Like, those kids are innocent kids!"

Alex shrugged. "The stories we heard when we were little are all true, and _some _people like to cook kids."

"_Great_, Alex," Tana said sarcastically.

"Given that we've dealt with vampires, a spider woman, and two battling armies," Artie pointed out, "learning that this Gingerbread Woman may very well be the one from the story that we all grew up reading, just seems to be par for the course."

"Tana, we're going to save the kids from being eaten," Ernie promised.

Gabbie knew that they all had good points, and she was thinking about what Tyler said about needing to do something about the rules that they were having to follow. "So far, we've been beating these lieutenants with _complete_ brute force," she mused. "Is there _any way_ we can outsmart them and get ahead of them? Cause it seems like they're _always_ ten feet ahead of us."

"Good point," Artie agreed.

Alex looked over the sides of the gingerbread house and got their attention back on it. "Ok," he said. "This side is…I feel like it's _gonna _be secure, but we have to keep it _very _still."

"Maybe if we put the lids on all at once, it'll kinda just like…" Gabbie made a squishing sound, and her friends all chuckled.

* * *

Meanwhile in the dinning room, Team Recipe were still finding chocolates and they weren't sure of which ones were suppose to go into the box since they didn't have a guide to which chocolate was which, or even a _lid_ for the box yet.

"Did we get one of these nipple ones?" Joey asked, picking up a "nipple one" and held it up.

Dawn rolled her eyes, Andrea snickered, and Tyler whistled.

"Yes, I got a nipple one," Liza said with a straight face.

Putting the chocolate down, Joey searched around for any chocolates they might have missed. As he searched one of the cabinets, he moved aside a decorated plate, and he found the lid of the chocolate box. "Guys!" He picked it up and brought it over to the others. "I found the top for the box."

"Perfect!" Tyler crowed.

Thankfully, the box top contained a map of where each chocolate belongs in the box. The problem was, the chocolates all looked the same, and they realized that they were going to have to eat the chocolates if they wanted to find out their flavors.

"I can already feel my blood sugar levels spiking," Dawn moaned as they bit into the chocolates to figure out the flavors.

Liza was feeling the same way and she was only halfway through one of the chocolates. "I need to eat the whole thing to find out," she groaned, popping the rest into her mouth.

It took quite a bit of eating, but Liza was able to figure out which flavor was which, especially when she pointed out that the molasses flavored chocolate had its inside dyed blue, and with that they were able to start figuring out the right flavors and which slots to put them in.

* * *

The gingerbread house was almost done with Alex, Artie, and Ernie holding the sides together while Tana and Gabbie worked on the roof.

"What is _this?_"Gabbie wondered aloud, picking up a giant gingerbread rectangle.

"That goes right here," Alex replied, nodding to a gap in the roof. "It holds these up. It goes…like…slanted."

Gabbie placed it on the roof, but it wasn't right. "Like this?"

"No," Artie said, shaking his head. "Other way. Other way."

Gabbie tried again. "This?"

"No, no," said Ernie. "Across. I mean…uh…me to that side. Front to back."

"Here." Tana took the piece and put it in after turning it the proper direction.

"Stupid gingerbread house," Gabbie grumbled.

* * *

Meanwhile, Liza was helping Joey finish organizing the chocolates in the box, and she found a single goof. "This is raspberry cream," she said, pointing to the chocolate that currently occupied the "raspberry truffle" space. "This _has_to be the raspberry truffle. So switch these two."

Joey nodded and switched the two chocolates. "There, that should do it."

Just then, a door behind them popped open, and they hurried through it, finding _another _candy trail to follow.

* * *

Following the new trail, they went upstairs to the second floor and soon went through a doorway, finding themselves in a bedroom.

"Omigosh!" Joey gasped. "A little girl's room!"

* * *

Once the roof was done, Gabbie and Tana were now busy decorating the gingerbread house with all types of candies, which included putting large lollipops in their proper positions. "So three on the sides…"

"I'm almost done with that," Tana informed her.

A proud smile illuminated Gabbie's face. "Good job, Tana."

Tana smiled back. "Thank you, Gabbie."

Soon enough, the gingerbread house was completed. "Reach in there," Alex instructed Gabbie, who dod just that. "There should be a treat inside." But she came up empty-handed, "Nothing?"

"Nothing," Gabbie confirmed.

Nearby, a small box popped open, glowing with a purple light. "Wait!" Alex gasped. "That opened! Okay." He, Artie, and Ernie all let go of the gingerbread house. "I'm done holding this." And their sweet creation collapsed into a broken pile of gingerbread. Tana giggled despite herself.

Gabbie grabbed a key from the open box. "We already got the key! Run!"

"Wait, wait, wait." As the five of them raced for the door with Artie and Ernie grabbed their and Alex's coats, Alex snatched up an unused bowl of candy and started eating it. "Let's go!"

"Me," Tana snickered. "Alex is me." She grabbed one of the unused lollipops and stuffed it into her skirt.

"Guys, there's another candy trail!" Alex shouted when they got outside, and they followed the path to find the child once again.

* * *

A/N: Honestly, I'm surprised that no one ended up in sugar comas by the time this episode was over. I will see you all on Monday with the next chapter. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	4. Chapter 3: RECIPE AND CHILD PART TWO

Escape the Night: The Gingerbread Woman

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the Night!_

Time to continue the search for the recipe and the missing child. Can they be found in time to save the children held prisoner by the Gingerbread Woman? Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE: RECIPE AND CHILD PART TWO**

In the bedroom, there was a stack of wrapped packages in the middle of the room, and there was also another note, which Tyler read. "'I do love to surprise the children with things to eat. Especially things that make them gag. I particularly love _brains_'."

"If we have to eat _actual_ brains, I'm outta here," Dawn stated, and she was already starting to feel a little unwell from eating both the candy and the chocolates earlier.

Andrea didn't blame her since the idea of eating brains was gross, and she nodded to the packages. "I think we need to open these."

"Do you think these are _brains?_" Tyler squeaked.

"Only one way to find out."

Reluctantly, they started opening the packages, and when they lifted up the cover of a large package once the string had been removed – they all screamed when they found a human _head_ underneath it.

After a few seconds, they realized that the head was actually a cake, and they all laughed nervously instead.

"Okay," Joey said. "Well, it's a cake."

"It's a cake!" Tyler repeated, relief dancing across his features. "It's a cake. It's a cake. It's a cake."

"Do we just…?" Joey asked, trailing off.

Andrea finished his sentence. "Dive in?"

They worked together to rip the head apart, revealing the squishy "brains" inside. Said "brains" were a strange sort of purple goo that oozed between Andrea's fingers like sugary slime.

"This is _gross,_" Joey complained, making a face.

'_At least it isn't _real_ brains,'_ Dawn thought. "Okay, guys," she said, sighing. "We have to eat the brains. And that's something I never thought I would ever say." And they started scooping out and eating the 'brains'.

* * *

Outside, Team Child was following the new candy trail through the back part of the estate that was bordered by the forest.

"What are these?" Alex wonders aloud, staring at the golden stepping stones littered around the yard. "What does all this…"

"…_mean?_" Gabbie, Alex, Artie, Ernie, and Tana said in chorus, and they laughed as they searched the area.

Alex hopped up onto a nearby wall. "Wait…oh! There's more up here!" He examined his surroundings, and his eyes light up with understanding. "Oh! A chest!"

Artie, Ernie, Gabbie, and Tana followed his lead and the key that they found in the lounge unlocked the chest.

"There's no way a kid could fit in here," Alex mused.

Gabbie opened the chest, hoping to God that they're on the right track. "I'm sure a clue does." Sure enough, the chest contained a bunch of candy and a note.

"Oooh!" Alex exclaimed. "Rock candy!"

Ernie took out the note and read it. "'Nine pieces of candy must be placed on the golden stones to lure the lost child from the woods. Once all of them are placed, the child will appear to open the gingerbread room'. Ok, so we need to put the candy on those gold stones in order to bring the kid to us."

"Let's get to work."

* * *

"It's actually not that bad," Joey remarked through a mouthful of brains.

"Yeah," Dawn agreed.

Andrea nodded. "It's not as bad as I thought it would be."

"It's not!" Liza licked her fingers. "Actually, I think I'm growing smarter," she joked and they all giggled, proof that the sugar was giving them a high.

Soon, the cabinet behind them opened on its own. "Knew it!" Andrea shouted, running over to it and pulled out gigantic book. "Oh…it's a heavy book for one person."

Dawn helped her carry the book over to the table and read the title on the cover. "'The Most Delicious Recipes'."

"This is the recipe book!" Andrea exclaimed, and both she and Dawn did a high-five.

"It is!" Tyler cheered.

It didn't take them long to find the "'secret meat pie recipe, more valuable than a king's fortune'." They all silently read the ingredients and exchanged alarmed expressions when they saw that one of the main ingredients for the meat pie was a _child!_

Joey ripped the recipe out of the book with a determined expression on his face. "Let's go."

* * *

Exiting the bedroom, they found their _third_ candy trail, and they followed it back down the stairs.

"We need to find these children," Joey reminded them, clutching the recipe between his fingers.

"And we will," Dawn agreed. "No kids are going to die on our watch."

* * *

Following the candy trail, they soon found their way to a large wooden door, which had a sign on it.

"'Only children are allowed to enter the baking room'," Joey read and sighed. "Great, so until the others get back here with the missing kid, we can't get in." And so they waited, having no other option at the moment.

* * *

Meanwhile back outside, Team Child was busy putting candy on the stepping stones, and soon they each had a small pile of rock candy on them.

"Wait," Alex said and he started counting the stones, wanting to make sure that they hadn't missed any. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight…oh. There's one more."

"So there's one more stone," said Tana. "We gotta look for it." And they continued their search.

"There has to be one hidden in the bushes that we don't see," Alex remarked, looking around for the stone they have yet to find.

"None over here," Gabbie called from a nearby clump of bushes, "but I'm guessing that-"

"Oh! Here!" Alex pushed aside the now-empty chest to reveal the final stone.

"Wait…" Gabbie turned around, saw Alex's discovery, and shook her head. "Oh, you son of a bitch!"

Alex ignored her and he put the rest of the rock candy on the stone. "Okay, that's nine."

It wasn't very long before they head footsteps and the voice of a boy. "Is that candy?" And a boy came out from behind a bush, his face lighting up when he saw the candy. "Wow. There's so many." And he started gathering up the candy.

"There he is!" Gabbie exclaimed. "Go!" And they approached the child.

"Hi!" Tana said brightly.

The boy's smile disappeared. "Who are you?"

"We're here to save you," Alex informed him.

"We have more," Tana added. "We have more."

"I…" The boy tried his best to look tough, but fear flickered across his brown eyes. "I'm not going to share my candy if that's what you want," he snapped at the YouTubers in a defiant yet trembling voice. "I found it."

"No, no, no!" Alex said quickly, resisting the urge to give the boy a hug. "You can have it! We need your help to find your friends."

"Yeah, we're here to help you find your friends and save them from the Gingerbread Woman," Artie added.

At the mention of his lost friends, the boy's smile returned. "Yeah. Okay. Come on!" And he took off running.

"Let's call him Pepito!" Alex suggested as he grabbed his coat. "Pepito! Wait!"

"We're _not_ adopting him, Alex!" Ernie exclaimed as he and Artie ran after the boy, too.

"He can _run,_" Tana gasped.

* * *

A/N: Both the recipe and the child have been found, now it's time to regroup and save the trapped children when I post the next chapter on Wednesday. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	5. Chapter 4: SAVE THE CHILDREN

Escape the Night: The Gingerbread Woman

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the __Night!_

Now that it's October, that means that for the remainder of the month, I shall be the Halloween Queen. _MAWHAHAHAHAHA!_

Sorry, that's a combination of the fact that I enjoy Halloween, that my birthday is seventeen days away, and this darn cold is messing with my mind. Anyway, time to see if our favorite YouTubers can rescue the kids from the Gingerbread Woman and hopefully get the gem without anyone else having to die. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR: SAVE THE CHILDREN**

It'd been five minutes since Team Recipe found the door to the baking room, and they were starting to get antsy when a brown-haired boy entered with Alex, Artie, Gabbie, Ernie, and Tana right behind him.

"Guys!" Tyler exclaimed, relieved to see them. "You got the kid!"

"Are you here to help my friends, too?" the boy asked them.

Dawn nodded. "Yup, that's what we're going to do," she assured him. "But we need to get inside the baking room in order to do that."

"You want me to open the door?" the boy asked, and they all nodded. "Ok." And he pushed the doors open with surprising ease.

* * *

The group entered the baking room and saw that it was aptly named since there was _hundreds _of cupcakes, cookies, candies, and other sweet treats, a brick oven built into one wall, and there was a scrawny little man in a brown apron.

"H-h-how did you all get in here?" the man stuttered, alarmed to see them and he almost dropped the cupcake that he'd been frosting. "I mean, only children are allowed in the baking room."

"We were let in by a child," Gabbie informed him.

"We _are _children," Tana insisted.

Alison pulled the boy aside and gently pushed him out the door. "It's time for you to go home now."

"But I just got here!" the boy protested.

"Go!" she insisted and the boy left, despite Alex calling after him.

Disappointed that the boy that Alex had wanted to adopt was gone, he turned to the scared man. "Do you know anything about the children?"

Before the scared man could answer, Joey pointed to the door to the oven. "There's children in the oven!" he cried. "Guys!"

Artie and Ernie opened the door, and out pop two children, a boy and a girl, prompting a chorus of "omigods" from the group.

"You saved us!" squealed the little girl. "Thank you so much!"

"Get out of here!" yelled Tyler. "Go!" And both kids ran out of the baking room, much to the relief of the group.

Tana turned to the scared man. "Who _are_ they?" she demanded of him. "Why were _they _here?"

The little man was too scared to make eye contact with the group. "Well…it's what the gingerbread lady does."

"Wait!" Liza pointed at the man. "Look at his neck! He has a rock!" And sure enough, hanging around his neck on a leather strap was a pink gem.

"Oh! A gem!"

"You have the gem!"

"We _need _that!"

The man looked confused. "What?"

"We need your necklace," Liza informed him.

"We'll give you _anything,_"Alex promised.

"But t-t-the gingerbread woman gave it to me," the man whimpered, clutching the gem with one hand, "and i-if I give it away, she'll…she'll hurt me…"

Joey shook his head. "No. It's fine."

"We'll protect you," Dawn promised. "But we _really_ need that gem."

Tyler took the recipe from Joey and showed it to the man. "We have this recipe."

The man stared at the recipe and gasped when he saw the name on the top. "That's her secret meat pie recipe," he said, his eyes wide. "That's worth a _fortune!_"

"We'll trade you!"

"Yes…" The man bit his nails. He still looked terrified, but there was also a glimmer of hope on his face that hadn't been there before, and he looked at the group. "Yes, that could be my way out…" He took a deep breath. "Put it down."

"_You _put it down!" Tana shot back, holding a meat cleaver she'd found.

"Tana, calm down," Dawn advised while Tyler set the recipe on the table.

Joey took the meat cleaver from the saloon girl. "Leave this here," he insisted. "I don't trust you with that." And he placed it next to the recipe.

The man eyed the recipe with nervous eyes. "Why should I trust you?"

"Why should we trust _you?_" Liza pointed out.

Tyler shrugged. "She's got a point."

"I mean, you're a prisoner," Tana reminded him. "We're prisoners."

The man looked at the group and then at the recipe for several hour-long seconds before he _finally_ made up his mind, and he started to remove the necklace from around his neck-

-only to have a nearby door open, and the Gingerbread Woman entered the baking room. She was a chubby woman with a round face, a saggy chin, a tall red hairdo, and eyes the color of chocolate. She was wearing a pink blouse and a blue skirt, and she carried a tray of cups filled with hot cocoa. The Gingerbread Woman had arrived.

* * *

A/N: Uh oh, the Gingerbread Woman _has _arrived! Hide the children!

Okay, so I have back-to-back shifts at the movie theater tomorrow morning and Friday morning, so that means that I will be back to post the next chapter on Monday. I know that it's an inconvenience, but that's how real life works. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	6. Chapter 5: GINGERBREAD WOMAN

Escape the Night: The Gingerbread Woman

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the Night!_

The Gingerbread Woman has arrived, and just when they were _so close_ to getting the gem from Sampson. What is going to happen next? Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE: GINGERBREAD WOMAN**

"Oh!" the Gingerbread Woman giggled when she saw the group while the scared man shrank back against one of the walls, clutching the gem in his hand. "Do we have guests?"

She bustled forward and the group backed up a bit, Tyler grabbing and hiding the recipe behind his back to keep the woman from seeing it just yet, and she set the tray down.

"Well, it's a good thing I just whipped up a nice batch of hot cocoa," she added with a pleasant smile. Please have one!" And she started passing around cups of hot cocoa to the YouTubers, whether they wanted any or not. "It's a new blend I'm working on for the Duke of the North."

The Gingerbread Woman then began giving baked goods to the group, confusing them even further since she really seemed like a sweet woman that would _never_ try to bake children into pies.

She was handing a cupcake to Tyler when she noticed the recipe that was clutched in his hand. "That looks like my secret recipe for meat pie," she remarked, eying him and the paper he was holding.

'_Uh oh!'_ Tyler tried to hide it behind him again. "I'm simply carrying a piece of paper," he said quickly.

"Where did you get it?" the gingerbread woman demanded, her voice hardening into something dangerous. Then, as if someone flipped a switch, rage twisted her face, and she snarled the word "_you_" at the man with the gem, and he cringed, stammering some excuses.

"No! It wasn't his fault!" Gabbie protested.

"We found the recipe to bring to you!" Dawn added, quickly putting down the cup and was hoping to keep the man from being harmed by the Gingerbread Woman. "He has _nothing_ to do with this! _Honest!_"

"It wasn't him!" Alex insisted. "It wasn't him!"

"He didn't do anything!" Liza pleaded.

"You _betrayed _me," the gingerbread woman growled, ignoring their objections. "I took you in when your parents put you out on the streets!" She tossed aside the remains of the cupcake she had crushed in her fist, and snatched up the meat cleaver from the table.

Before the group could stop her, she grabbed the man's hand, and forced it onto a nearby chopping board. Then, as the group watched in horror, she chopped several of his fingers off, and they all screamed in alarm.

The poor man moaned and sank to the floor, clutching at his injured hand. The Gingerbread Woman faced the shocked group, clutching the blood-stained meat cleaver in her hand, and there was rage in her eyes. "Give me the recipe! _Now!_"

"No!" Liza yelled back. "Give _us-_"

"I…" Tyler clutched the recipe to his chest, trying his best to keep his voice calm, but it was hard for him to stay brave after what he just witnessed. "Here's the deal. You have something we want."

"One…" The gingerbread woman advanced toward Tyler, her meat cleaver at the ready. "Two…"

Tana gasped. "Tyler! She's counting!"

"Three," the Gingerbread Woman growled. "I need the recipe. _Please._"

"You ain't my mama!" Liza blurted out.

At that _exact _moment, Tyler's courage failed him, and he let the gingerbread woman grab the recipe out of his hand. "Thank you," she sneered with a sickening smile.

"I feel like she was gonna do something," Tyler squeaked.

"You tried to steal my recipe!" the gingerbread woman screamed at the group.

"No!" snapped Alex through a mouthful of donut.

"Your punishment," the Gingerbread woman, "is that you will go out and vote…and bring me back two pieces of meat."

Alex spit out the donut. _"What__?!_" he yelped, unaware that Gabbie had swiped his donut, not that he wanted it anymore.

"We _didn't_ steal your recipe!" Dawn insisted. "We _found_ it! There's no need for a vote!"

The Gingerbread Woman ignored her. "And _I _will decide which one of you lives and which one of you will be eaten in my next pie," she snickered.

"Do you _gotta _do that?" Tyler asked, not wanting to send anyone else into a challenge, much less _another_ final death challenge, and so soon after eating all that candy, chocolate, and fake brains barely minutes ago.

"Go!" the Gingerbread Woman hollered as the door behind them opened on its' own. "Now!" And the group fled, having no other choice since she had the recipe, plus the scared man was in no shape to help them at the moment.

It was clear, they were going to have to vote…_again_.

* * *

A/N: Poor Sampson, he didn't deserve that! I will see you all on Wednesday with the next chapter to see who will have to go into the final death challenge. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	7. Chapter 6: VOTING TIME AGAIN

Escape the Night: The Gingerbread Woman

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the Night!_

Sorry for the late update, I had some errands to run and I'm still getting over this lousy could. Plus it's cold outside and I'm glad to be inside a place that's warm. Time to see which of our favorite YouTubers will have to go into the final death challenge and whether they will continue to play by the Soceress' rules. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER SIX: VOTING TIME AGAIN**

When the group got back to the lounge to decide on the next round of voting, they were all shaken from seeing that man get most of his fingers cut off, and any joy that they had been feeling about saving the children was gone. Also, they were now dealing with the effects of the candy that they'd been eating, and none of them were feeling very good at the moment either.

"That poor little man was just sitting there, getting ready to bake!" Liza cried.

Gabbie frowned. "She said she rescued him as a child, and now he's, like, a prisoner."

"She didn't _rescue _him," Andrea scoffed. "She swiped him up."

"Think about how long he's been there, though," Tana pointed out. "Think about how long _we _could be here."

"There's also the fact, that whatever this final death challenge will be," said Tyler, "there will probably be some kind of food involved, and I don't think _anyone_ here is willing to have to eat what could be even _more_ candy after all of this." And there was general agreement to that.

Dawn was thinking about everything they'd gone through so far, and after seeing the Gingerbread Woman and the children they'd managed to save, she came to a decision. "Guys," she said, and they looked at her. "Given everything that's happen so far, and with this upcoming vote…" she paused and took a breath, hoping that she wouldn't regret what she was about to suggest. "…instead of – instead of debating about _who_ we should vote, we should just vote, and the two people that go in, they should do _everything_ that they can to come back alive."

"You mean, do what I was suggesting earlier?" Tyler asked and she nodded.

Joey was surprised to hear her say that. "You sure that's a good idea, Dawn?"

"Yes, because last year, you and I had _no idea_ what the rules of that blasted game were until someone died," Dawn pointed out, "but here, we _know_ the rules, and it's high time that we do something _other_ then what the Sorceress wants us to do. And I think that means breaking the rules this time around. _No one_ else needs to die to get the gems."

"You're right, Donny," Joey agreed, for he was _beyond_ fed up of having friends die because of his decisions, both last year and because of the Sorceress using him to set up the situation they were currently in. "It's time to take matters into our own hands and stick it to the Sorceress." He held out his hand over the table and Dawn put her hand on top of his. "Who else is with us?" he asked and one-by-one, his friends added their own hands. "Ok, from here on out, _we_ make the rules. Agreed."

"Agreed!"

Alison, who was at the bar with the cards, spoke up. "All right, it's time to vote. Please come up one by one, as usual."

One by one, each member of the group went to the bar, chose a card that was handed to Alison, and they went back to sit on either the couches or the chairs. They were all feeling nervous since it was possible that one of them might _not_ come back from the final death challenge.

* * *

After the last vote was casted and everyone was seated, Alison began shuffling the cards while the others watched, and Tana licked the lollipop from the gingerbread house room. The cards were shuffled several times before Alison chose a card and, after looking at it, held it up for them all to see.

"Tyler."

Tyler gulped. "Oh, goody."

Alison shuffled the cards a second time before drawing another card, looked at it, and then she showed it to the group.

"Liza."

"Me?" Liza squeaked and both Dawn and Joey squeezed her hands to give her some emotional support. "_Great_. Any chance we can vote again?"

Alison shook her head, setting the cards down. "The votes have been cast," she stated. "There's no way to change it. Tyler, Liza, follow me."

"If either of you see a way to get out of the challenge without dying, do it," Dawn reminded them as Tyler took Liza's hand. "_Change_ the rules. _Change_ your fate."

"Dawn's right," Gabbie agreed. "Fight for your life. You _both _might be able tocome back alive. It's a possibility! Don't accept death!"

Alex nodded. "Remember, this is the only way out!"

"You got this!" Andrea shouted.

"If I don't come back," Liza called over her shoulder as Tyler leads her out of the room, "it was sweet living with you all."

Tana chuckled. "It was _sweet_."

Once they were gone, Artie looked at Dawn. "Do you think this will work?" he asked.

Dawn shrugged. "I hope so, 'cause I'm sick and _tired_ of having to see good people die just because the _villain _says so."

"This _will_ work," Joey said confidently. "The Sorceress is going to learn that she can't bully us anymore."

* * *

A/N: Ok, so I know in the episode it was Joey who threw Liza under the bus, and I decided to change that. Once again I have back-to-back morning shifts at the movie theater tomorrow and Friday, I will see you all on Monday with the next chapter. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	8. Chapter 7: TOO MUCH SUGAR! PART ONE

Escape the Night: The Gingerbread Woman

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the Night!_

It's time for Tyler and Liza to go into the final death challenge to see who will win the gem and who will be baked into a meat pie. But will they break the rules instead to get the gem and survive? Time to find out. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER SEVEN: TOO MUCH SUGAR! PART ONE**

Alison lead Liza and Tyler down the hallway and toward the baking room, and she surprised them by stopping them before they reached the door. "Just so you know," she said in a low voice, "the gingerbread woman's servant… his name is Sampson. He's been with her for as long as I can remember." She smiled. "I think he might be able to help you."

"Sampson," Liza repeated and Tyler nodded, hoping that their friend was right, and they could trust Sampson to help them both to get out of the final death challenge alive and with the gem.

Alison smiled slightly and pushed the door open so that they could go inside for the final death challenge.

* * *

When Tyler and Liza reentered the baking room, they were shocked to see that there were more sweets than before: cupcakes, chocolates, candies, cookies, donuts, and who knows what else. There was also a red streamer running down the middle of the room, splitting it in two. At the center of it all was Sampson, who was still still nursing what was left of his hand, which was now bandaged. He gave Tyler and Liza a piece of paper.

"Is this for us?" Tyler asked, and Sampson nodded.

Tyler and Liza then read the instructions on the paper together. "'Choose a side, then eat and swallow everything red until you are given your next instruction. The first to complete all three instructions lives. Set the baking timer to thirty minutes and be finished before it rings or no one gets out'."

"So we both could _die?_" Tyler asked uneasily and when Sampson nodded again, he gulped and noted that even Liza was looking scared.

As Sampson set the timer, Tyler and Liza faced each other.

"Love you, sweet pie," she muttered.

He kissed her hand. "Sis…"She took his trembling hand and kissed it in return.

Sampson started the timer and they both dashed to either side of the streamer to start eating the sweets and baked goods that were red.

Liza snatched up a donut with red frosting and began eating it. "I _love_ this challenge."

"I don't know what's red," Tyler grumbled from the other side of the room and was glaring at a half-eaten donut in his hand before showing it to Sampson. "I hope what I ate was red. Is this red?"

"That's pink," Sampson replied.

"That's _pink!_" Tyler groaned. "_Ugh__!_" He tossed it aside and once again looked for the treats that were _definitely_ red._ 'I don't have any room in my stomach for pink! Where's the stupid red?!'_

Liza was stuffing a red cookie into her mouth when Sampson grabbed a piece of paper and held it out to her.

"Ok! You're done!"

"I'm done?" Liza asked and when Sampson nodded, she quickly took the new note from him and read it. "'Eat everything shaped like a square'. Ok." She dropped the note and began searching for treats that were shaped like squares, and she went to work.

"I _surely _have eaten everything red," Tyler insisted as he choked down a peppermint. "Have I not?" He groaned when Sampson shook his head, and he went in search of more red, determined to catch up with Liza, who was eating everything that was square-shaped.

"This does _not _taste very good, Sampson," Liza complained as she gobbled up a chocolate chip brownie, and then made a face. "Sampson, did you make these?"

Tyler ignored her as he forced down a red gum ball he'd found and he was relieved when Sampson held out the next clue. "_Finally!_" He took the note and groaned when he saw that he was now going to have to eat everything that was _square_.

Tossing the note aside in frustration, Tyler began searching for square-shaped food, yanking open boxes and eating the chocolate squares.

Liza, despite her lead, was starting to struggle in finding square-shaped food, and she realized that Tyler was now catching up. She turned to Sampson with a hopeful expression. "Where the squares at?"

"I can't tell you," Sampson squeaked fearfully.

"Point with the finger that you don't have," Liza pleaded, but it was clear that Sampson couldn't help her, and she turned back to search, feeling hopelessness starting to grow inside her despite her full belly.

Tyler wasn't feeling too well by this point and he looked at Sampson this time. "Can we have water?" he asked, and moaned when Sampson shook his head. "No water. This is…this is stupid."

"Where's a square?" Liza wondered, still searching for any square-shaped food that she'd somehow missed, tossing aside several donuts.

"Dump things out if you need to," Sampson suggested.

Tyler grimaced. "Don't _help _her!"

"I mean, honey _one _of us needs to live!" Liza cried, dumping out a jar of taffy, and when she still didn't find any squares, she resumed searching.

Tyler forced down a square cookie and was relieved when Sampson handed him the next clue. "_Finally_," he sighed and took the note, only to groan again when he read it. "'Eat the king's cake'. _No!_" he moaned. "That's not even _possible!_ There's _no way!_" But he knew that he _had_ to in order to survive, and he went to a small white cake that had a gold crown on top.

Removing the gold crown, Tyler started eating it, and he was certain that he wasn't going to be able to look at _anything_ sweet ever again, much less _eat_ anything sweet after this.

* * *

A/N: Poor Tyler and Liza, I wouldn't have enjoyed that challenge either, and I'm pretty sure that my dad would end up in a diabetic coma if he had to eat all those sweets and baked good. I will see you all on Wednesday with the next chapter to see who will win and who will lose. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	9. Chapter 8: TOO MUCH SUGAR! PART TWO

Escape the Night: The Gingerbread Woman

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the Night!_

Tyler and Liza are in the middle of the final death challenge to get the gem from Sampson. Who will win the challenge and who will be baked into a meat pie? Time to find out. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER EIGHT: TOO MUCH SUGAR! PART TWO**

"What'd you get?" Liza asked from the other side of the table, pausing in her search for square-shaped treats.

"_Nothing_," Tyler replied, focusing on eating the cake. "Mind your own business."

Liza glowered at him and she went back to searching, although she _did_ feel like giving up, but she knew that if she died, then Dawn and Joey would _never _forgive themselves, and she didn't want that to happen to them._ 'They went through _hell_ last year,'_ she thought, _'and tonight is feeling like a repeat of _that_, so I _need_ to live! They're already suffering after losing Jesse, and I won't let them suffer further!'_

She grabbed several small boxes, opened them, and found square chocolates in them. Feeling slightly relieved, she quickly forced them down, ran back and took the note that Sampson handed to her, and she quickly read it before attacking a blue cake that was _her_ king's cake.

"Are you _really _gonna eat that?" Tyler asked.

"Am I really gonna live?" Liza shot back, stuffing parts of the blue cake into her mouth, muffling her voice. "Yes."

They were both hurting by this point, both were looking and feeling _very_ sick, but they were still working on eating the cakes, and they both were _determined _to live.

"Omigod," Tyler groaned, feeling like he was going to throw up. "I, like, don't feel good."

"Tyler." Liza's face was contorted into a miserable expression. "I do _not _feel good."

Tyler laughed despite feeling sick. "I hate you."

Liza smiled in return. "I love you, too."

Tyler grabbed another handful of cake and shoved it into his mouth, chewing and forcing himself to swallow, and he nearly fainted with relief when Sampson suddenly yanked a section of the streamer from his side of the room.

"Done!"

"Omigod!" Tyler cheered and then he became dejected when Liza burst into tears._ 'Oh no, oh no…'_

"No!" Liza wailed. "I'm not _done,_ Sampson! _No!_"

Sampson turned to her, his eyes brimming with sympathy. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too," Tyler agreed, wishing that he could save her, but he wasn't sure that he could, and if he failed, then that would mean _another_ win for the Sorceress, and he didn't want to imagine the mental damage that Liza's death would do to Joey and Dawn.

"Now," Sampson said, turning to him, "as the winner, to finish…"

Tyler's mouth dropped open. "To _finish?_"

"You ain't done," Liza remarked through her tears.

"You must eat a piece of meat pie," Sampson explained, opening the oven to enter it.

Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Is it made out of baby?"

Sampson didn't answer as he came back out, carrying a large meat pie out, and he set it on a small table with a fork.

"It was _so_ good," Liza wept, "and _so_ bad!"

Tyler gaped at the pie. "Are you…No. No! That's…just a piece of _that?_"

Liza nodded, sniffling. "Just eat a bite of it, baby."_ 'I'm sorry, Donny, Joey,' _she thought, positive that this was the end for her, _'but I don't think I'm gonna make it after all, and I know this isn't your fault, not in the _slightest_.'_

Sampson looked between them and then he made a suggestion, the fear disappearing from his face. "You know what? You can _both_ live," he offered, now feeling determined to help these two young people who had only been kind to him, especially earlier when they had offered to give him the meat pie recipe in exchange for the gem. "I'll give you the gem if you help me kill the Gingerbread Woman."

Both Tyler and Liza looked at him with hope in their sicken faces. "What do we have to do?"

"You just have to take a piece of the pie," Sampson explained to Tyler, who began shaking his head with a pained expression, gesturing to the meat pie. "You tell her that it tastes _terrible, _and something's _wrong _with it, and there _must _be something wrong with the oven." And he beamed when a surprised and delighted expression crossed Tyler's face.

Tyler, Sampson, and Liza all started talking at once, excitement and hope coloring their voices.

"She's very upset-"

"-the oven-"

"-when she goes in-"

"-and then we just-"

"I will shut the door," Sampson concluded, sounding happier than ever before. "And then you can have the gem!"

"Yes!" Liza cheered.

Just then, the Gingerbread Woman entered the baking room, and Tyler knew that he was going to have to put on the performance of his _life_.

"_Good day!_" he said with a deep bow that made his stomach protest, but he ignored it since he needed to convince her, and he wouldn't be able to if he threw up.

"You look _marvelous!_"Liza exclaimed, playing along and did a bow, too, ignoring her own protesting stomach.

The gingerbread woman studied her like a butcher examining a prime cut of beef. "I see you've been fattened up nicely for the oven."

"Thank you!" Liza said in a singsong voice, wiggling her bum at the woman who was planning on cooking her alive. "This little booty…"

With a flourish, the gingerbread woman turned her attention to Tyler. "You…"

"Yes!" Tyler said brightly.

"Eat up," she giggled, pointing to the pie, "and you can leave in one piece."

Tyler plastered an innocent smile onto his sweat-stained face. "Thank _you!_"

"Eat up!"

"It looks tasty," Liza said helpfully.

"Yes!" Tyler agreed, picking up the fork. "Very delicious!" He poked the fork into the pie, breaking the crust and then he shoved the forkful of the filling into his mouth, where he forced it down.

"Is it good?" Liza asked.

Tyler shook his head. "There's something wrong with this."

"_What?_" the gingerbread woman snapped.

"There's something wrong!" Tyler declared with a disgusted expression on his face.

"What do you _mean, _there's something wrong?" the gingerbread woman demanded angrily.

"It's _disgusting,_"Tyler stated, putting all of his anger at her into those two words. "You have to check the oven."

"No!" the gingerbread woman snarled, refusing to believe that there was anything wrong with her meat pie. "_Kings _have feasted on my pie! You guys stay back!" And she marched over to the oven, where she yanked the door open, and stepped inside to check.

The moment she stepped inside, Sampson immediately slammed the door shut and locked it with an expression of glee on his face. They had done _it!_

_`"Sampson? Sampson? Sampson!"`_ the Gingerbread Woman's voice screamed from inside the oven, banging on the locked door._ `"You let me out of here _right now_, Sampson!"`_

Grinning for the first time in a _very_ long time, Sampson handed Tyler the gem and a scroll, and as they both ran out of the baking room, he began laughing victoriously as he leaned against the oven door, listening to the rising flames and the screams of the Gingerbread Woman. "Burn, witch! _Burn!_"

* * *

A/N: Ding dong, the Gingerbread Woman is dead! And both Tyler and Liza have the gem! Victory all around! I will see you all on Friday with the next chapter. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	10. Chapter 9: VICTORY AND LOSS

Escape the Night: The Gingerbread Woman

A/N: Hello, world and welcome back to _Escape the Night!_

Sorry for the late update, had errands to run this morning. Anyway, time to see if the group can get away with breaking the rules now that both Tyler and Liza have escaped the final death challenge with the gem and a scroll. Onward!

Read, review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Escape the Night_. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.

* * *

**CHAPTER NINE: VICTORY AND LOSS**

Back at the lounge, Dawn couldn't stand waiting in there anymore and, after sharing a look with Joey, they both got up and hurried outside. The others exchanged perplexed looks and hurried after them, wondering why they were acting like this.

* * *

"Are you two ok?" Alex asked when they caught up with Dawn and Joey near the doors to the foyer, and it had _clearly_ gotten colder then it had been the last time they were outside. "Dawn? Joey?"

"Couldn't wait inside anymore," Dawn admitted. "The waiting part is the _worst_."

There was no denying that, since it'd been painful to wait to see who would come back from the first two final death challenges, and watching DeStorm get killed earlier hadn't helped matters. Now they would have to see whether Tyler or Liza would come back from the baking room, and they were hoping that both would make it back alive.

* * *

Minutes passed and Joey had pulled Dawn close to help keep her warm in the cold air while Alex, Artie, and Ernie had removed their coats to put around Gabbie, Tana, and Andrea, not caring that they themselves were going to get cold.

* * *

After what felt like forever, the group cheered when Alison came into view with Tyler _and_ Liza right behind her.

"Tyler!"

"Liza!"

"You're _both _back!"

Dawn and Joey were thrilled as they all did a big group hug. They had _beaten_ the odds this time, they were _certain _of it! Take _that_, you evil Sorceress!

Tyler, grinning despite how sick he was feeling, held up the necklace that the gem was still on. "We got _this!_"he announced, and everyone cheered. "And wait!" He showed off the white scroll. "Sampson gave us this, too."

Overjoyed to have both friends back, the group was about to examine the new clue – when thunder _suddenly_ boomed overhead, scaring them, and a cloud of white smoke with purple lightning began appearing before them, and they retreated backwards a bit.

"The Sorceress!"

And sure enough, emerging from the smoke like a Disney Villainess, the Sorceress appeared and she was looking _furious!_ She stepped toward them, but stopped when Tana threw her lollipop at her, missing the evil woman by a good inch, and it shattered on the ground. "Pick it up!" she snapped at the saloon girl, who refused to move from the safety of the group.

"Go to _hell!_" Joey snapped, glaring at the woman.

The Sorceress glared at the group, particularly at Joey, Dawn, Alex, and Alison, who was standing in front of the group with her arms spread in a defensive manner. "I think you _forgot_ something," she growled at them, her grip on her staff tightening with anger. "It's the most _important_ part." she continued in a furious voice. "One of you must _die__!_"

Behind her an orange bird/human creature came out of the mansion, dragging a struggling Sampson with her, and the poor man was terrified.

"Don't hurt him!" Dawn shouted and only Joey and Alex were keeping her from trying to help Sampson. "Leave him alone!"

The Sorceress sneered and turned to the creature. "Kill him!"

"_No!_" the group screamed, staring in horror as the orange creature ripped Sampson's throat out with its' claws before tossing him to the ground, where he bled out in mere seconds.

"That was uncalled _for!_" Dawn cried. "You didn't _have_ to kill him for wanting his freedom!"

"I can do whatever I _want_, Light-bearer!" the Sorceress snapped. "And now _one_ of you must _die,_" she continued. "That is the _most_ important part. That is the _rule_ of the game."

Just then, the nearby doors were throw open and a blue version of the bird creature came out and rushed the group, which tried to avoid capture, but it grabbed Liza, who screamed and struggled in its' grip as it dragged her back toward the doors.

"Liza!" Joey, Dawn, and Alex darted forward, trying to save their friend, but Alison got in their way. "Alison, get out of the way! No! Liza!" And they could only watch helplessly as Liza was dragged, kicking and screaming back into the mansion, the door swinging shut.

Seconds later, there was a muffled slashing sound that cut off the girl's screams, and a gallon of blood splashed against the door. Liza was _dead!_

The Sorceress laughed, enjoying the devastated expressions that were etching themselves across the faces of the group, especially the expressions on Dawn and Joey's faces. "Run along now!" she sneered as the group of survivors fled back toward the lounge. "Things are just _starting_ to get fun!"

* * *

The group was in a complete state of shock when they got back into the lounge, where Tyler put the gem on the map, which glowed pink, before sinking onto the couch. "If we try to outsmart her," he muttered, referring to the Sorceress, "it's not gonna end well."

"I never should have encouraged either of you to break the rules," Dawn said dejectedly, staring at her hands, and while they seemed clean, she knew that they were actually stained with the blood of everyone that she and Joey had failed to save, and that now included Sampson _and_ Liza.

"We all agreed to try and outsmart the Sorceress," Ernie pointed out, "and what happen out there is on _all_ of us, but in the end, it's the Sorceress whose responsible for _all_ of this, and she's to blame for our friends dying."

Joey wanted to believe that, he _really_ did, but he knew that some of the blame had to fall on him, too. "If I hadn't taken the deed from that house," he reminded them, "I wouldn't have been infected with the Darkness that the Sorceress needed to finish her plan, and she wouldn't have been able to use _me_ to lure you all here. I'm responsible, too. Not just her."

"That's true, Joey," Artie agreed, "but the majority of the blame goes to the Sorceress, and once we get the rest of the gems, we can make _her_ pay, and then we can get the hell out of here and back to 2017 where we _all_ belong." And the other survivors agreed, even Joey and Dawn.

They _had_ to get the remaining gems, find the crown, and use both to rid themselves of the Sorceress once and for all, especially so that they could have a _home_ to return to.

To Be Continued…

* * *

_I have so many, so many regrets._

_So many lies, so many broken ties._

_I wish for my old life._

_Wish I could fix my strike._

_Cause no one truly escapes the night._

_Oh, won't you help me escape the night._

_Oh baby help me escape the night._

_Escape the night._

* * *

A/N: RIP, Liza! Her death was a _serious _punch in my gut. Ok, here's some announcements for you guys: tomorrow is my birthday, and so I won't be updating. And because I have work Monday morning and Tuesday morning at the movie theater, I won't get to post again until Wednesday. I know that's a long way, but that's real life for you. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


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